How to get started

Have you ever wanted to start traveling only to be overwhelmed by the amount of work and money necessary to do so? Where to start planning and budgeting a trip is the first hurdle and can be a major roadblock, especially for inexperienced travelers. This guide is going to be a start-to-finish walkthrough of my trip-planning process, with tips and resources to set you on your way to planning your own getaways.

Me leaving on my first solo trip ever in 2023!

Alright, first off you're going to need to pick somewhere to go! Check out my other post Picking a Destination for some guidance on how to pick the right place for you 🙂 Once you’ve picked the destination of your trip, you’ll need a way to get there.

For places closer to home ground transportation like trains, and buses might be a more cost-effective option especially if you have some extra time to spend getting from place to place. It's always good to check out these options, it might be a better option than flying! There are good resources online for national trains and buses, but international ground transportation can get a bit tricky. One site I use to check providers and prices for transportation. is Rome2Rio. It compares all possible means of transportation between point A and point B by travel time and price. I have never used it to book flights, but it's my absolute go-to for ground transport. Even if you fly to your destination trains and buses can be a great way to get around if you are planning on visiting more than one city or several smaller countries like in Europe!

For destinations farther away obviously, a flight becomes more necessary. As far as flights go personally, I use Expedia. I just find it's the easiest platform where I can keep all of my travel information in one place. Also, some websites may be enticing, offering too good-to-be-true flight prices but while this might seem like a better option budget-wise, I can tell you from experience it's a much better idea to use a REPUTABLE site. Even if another site has better prices and you get your ticket, trying to contact customer support with these smaller sites can be difficult, and can leave you in a bad situation if something goes wrong. These sites offer competitive prices but Airlines aren't able to help much if something goes wrong with a booking made through a third party, so it's important to pick one you know is going to be reliable.

Although it can sometimes be slightly pricier than smaller booking sites, with a little bit of know-how, you can still optimize your savings using Expedia! For international flights, I find that prices are generally the lowest roughly 5 months before your departure date. Expedia also offers a price tracking option, where you can set up push notifications that will let you know when the price of the flight your tracking goes up or down! I usually set up this option when I first start thinking about booking a trip, just to get a sense of when to book 🙂Another good way to cut costs when you're flying is to only bring carry-on baggage. I’ve had flights where a checked bag cost upwards of 150$ so investing in a good carry-on can save you money in the long run! If your destination is a smaller city, booking a flight to the nearest large international airport and arranging separate travel to your final destination can save you hundreds! For example, when I traveled to Peru, the cost of flights from Halifax to Cusco was roughly 1400$ round trip. Instead, I booked round trip flights to Lima for 700$ and round trip flights to Cusco from there for only 200$. That's 500$ saved by going through the same airport I would have had a connection in any way!

And the last thing you have to worry about transportation-wise is how you're getting to and from the airport. I won't cover airport transportation at your point of origin since it's much easier to figure that out where you live, but it's always a good idea to pre-arrange transportation at your destination. From experience, this will save you a lot of headaches and potentially unsafe situations. Depending on your accommodation, they may offer airport shuttles. I always check this first because then they do all of the detail work for you. If not, another good option is to book an Uber in advance if it's available at your destination. This will let you enter your flight number so any time changes will be conveyed to your driver and they'll arrive on time 🙂whatever means of transportation you choose, just make sure that you do your research before you land to avoid any problems.

Now that transportation is covered, let's talk about where you are going to stay! I am a hostel girlie through and through and will never be able to hype them up enough. On top of being a fantastic way to meet people especially if you are solo traveling, they are by far the best way to cut costs when you're traveling. Hotel rooms are super expensive, and even a low-end room is still going to run you around 100$ a night. On the other hand, you can find hostels for a fraction of the price and if you choose wisely they are going to be heaps nicer than a budget hotel room.

My go-to hostel booking site is Hostelworld. It's a super easy-to-use site and app, that lets you easily manage your bookings from anywhere. They have a massive selection of hostels to choose from all over the world, all of which have been verified and the reviews are all 100% authentic from other travelers. The upside of booking through a third party is that instead of the reviews being filtered through and cherry-picked by the business themselves, you get the real opinions of real people who have stayed there. They also offer social features to help you connect with other travelers visiting at the same time as you! Check out my post on all things hostels here. Another (sometimes) budget-friendly option if you're looking for a bit more privacy is Airbnb. Less expensive than hotels and more expensive than hostels they can be a good middle ground and still save you some money. I will say, if you choose to go the Airbnb route be very careful and make sure you do your research to find a reputable host and make sure that the place is in a safe area ESPECIALLY if you are solo traveling. If you ever have a weird gut feeling about a place, listen to it. In a hostel, some people know you're there and will notice if you don't come back, in an Airbnb you're on your own. On that note, I want to make it clear I don't want to deter you from using Airbnb, they can be a safe and more comfortable way to travel if you value your own space, but safety is always the #1 priority!

Now you know where you're going, how you're getting there, and where you're staying. Let's talk about the fun part, what are you going to do while you're there? My favorite booking sites are GetYourGuide and Viator I find they’ve been the easiest to use and the best to do business with. I can’t offer too much guidance on activities since everyone is going to want to do different things, but I can give you some advice on picking your guides and providers! The biggest thing is reading reviews! Reviews will give you a good sense of tour providers and guides to make sure you’re getting a safe and fun experience. Check the good reviews but always check the lowest too, see what people are complaining about, and more importantly how many are complaining. Something I love about both of these booking sites is that they show the relative age of the person leaving the review and sometimes who they are traveling with (solo travelers, couples, etc) This allows you to read reviews from people like you! Sometimes bad reviews are being left by one demographic, while another has nothing but praise for an activity provider, it just gives you better insight into what you might like. These two sites also verify their tours, providing peace of mind about your safety and security while you’re out.

Booking sites are great for guided tours and excursions but you’ll be on your own as far as sightseeing planning goes, unless you book a walking tour or hop on hop off city bus. I don't love these activities just because they really only take you to the tourist hotspots and don't give you the authentic feel of a destination. Most hostels offer free walking tours, and they can be a good introduction to the area but do your research and branch out on your own! I always prepare by finding some locations I'd like to visit and saving them on my Google Maps for easy access. This also lets you see what sights are close together, so you can figure out what to visit when, and how to get to them 🙂 You can even save restaurants and other stops along the way to your activities for easy day planning, or just wing it!

The most important part of all of this is keeping your information organized. In my shop is a free download of the digital travel planner that I use to organize all of my itineraries. It's a great way to keep all of your ideas organized and information all in the same place! You can also share the file, so you can collaborate with other travelers on your trip, or if you are traveling alone it’s a great way for people to know your whereabouts without having to check in all day.

Feel free to reach out via socials or my contact page if you have any questions, happy planning my friends!